Are you gambling with your executive job search?

Simon Gray September 13, 2018

Gambling is a word that in many cases comes with negative connotations, including addiction and lack of control, not to mention a quick way to lose money. It’s something many people distance themselves from and wouldn’t want to be associated with, indeed back in my recruitment days the gambling industry (or anything associated with it) was on the ‘not interested’ list for a number of candidates I represented.

Most executive jobseekers would probably prefer not to be considered a gambler when it comes to their executive job search and no doubt would feel very uncomfortable if asked to take a gamble with their career and future. However, many executive jobseekers in pursuit of a next move are unintentionally doing just that – gambling with their career and future.

For many, executive job search is gambling:

The popularity of gambling has grown in recent years and we’re surrounded by constant reminders of its existence.

Whether it’s sports, physical / online casinos, or some other variant, gambling in any form comprises two elements:

The bet – the gambler predicts that a certain outcome is more likely than other potential outcomes (for example, on the next spin of the roulette wheel, number 9 is more likely to come up than any other number).

The money – the gambler backs up their prediction with hard-earned cash (for example, having exchanged money for casino chips, they place these chips on number 9).

If the gambler is right they get paid, if they’re wrong they lose their wager.

In the executive job market, it’s much the same:

The bet – the executive jobseeker decides on the best way to find and secure a new executive position. There are a number of ‘games’ they could play in the form of online job boards and executive search firms and the executive jobseeker must make a prediction as to what they believe will serve them best.

The money – for the executive jobseeker the equivalent here is emotional capital. Having made a decision on who is best able to help them make their next career move they invest time, energy and effort. This usually takes the form of completing lengthy online applications or chasing down executive recruiters, often to no avail.

Having made their bet, the gambler and executive jobseeker sit back and wait.

What happens next is not within their control and is determined solely by the actions of others. They hope things go their way, and while they wait are often taken on a self-created rollercoaster of emotions.

Every loser wins?

As I write this I’m reminded of the song, Order Valium Online Legal by Nick Berry, which spent three weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart in late 1986.

Gamblers gamble in the belief that they will win, and executive jobseekers enter the executive job market with the expectation that they’ll secure a new position.

Winning comes from this belief and expectation playing out, but the road to success is often a bumpy ride. No gambler wins every bet they place, and I’ve never met an executive jobseeker who has been offered every executive position they’ve applied for.

Indeed, in both gambling and executive job search, there is usually more losing than winning.

Most gamblers lose. The industry is set up this way and it’s why it has become a multi-billion dollar business (Buy Valium 5Mg Online the founder of Bet365, according to Forbes, as of May 2018 had a net worth of c.$4.6bn).

In the executive job market with intense competition for any executive position, no matter how skilled or experienced it’s likely you’ll face your fair share of rejection. In any organisation there are fewer positions at the top than at the bottom, which means as you progress your career, further advancement can become increasingly challenging.

So, does every loser win?

In the gambling world many run out of money before achieving that elusive big win.

When it comes to executive job search, frustration and disillusionment in the face of rejection can be quick to set in. Once emotional capital is spent, even if the perfect opportunity were to appear, it would be very difficult to capitalise on it (I discuss this in the opening chapter of my book, Where Can I Buy Real Valium Online).

So, while everyone has a probability of winning, many don’t stay in the game long enough to achieve success.

So, what separates the winners and losers?

Professional gamblers are the winners (they’re able to make a living doing it), but they don’t expect to win every bet they place. They know this is impossible and have ditched any attachment to the certainty of winning, replacing this with a detailed understanding of the probabilities associated with their chosen game.

They know they’ll take their fair share of losses and have a strategy / plan to stay in the game long enough to come out on top.

Instead of hoping and dreaming of the big win they focus on the day-to-day grind of their chosen profession.

What’s more, they know the most important thing to focus on is risk management. This means protecting their capital (their stake money), as without capital there is no seat at the table and therefore no possibility of winning.

It’s the same in the executive job market:

Successful executive job search is also about understanding the probabilities of your approach. While submitting your details to executive job boards and executive search firms might seem like the best approach, it’s what everybody else is doing and is in fact a low-probability strategy.

Successful executive job search is about standing out from the crowd, and there are other things you can and should be doing.

This means proactively defining the job you want and then positioning yourself in the ‘hidden’ market, which is the place where high-probability executive career opportunities always exist before ever being advertised on executive job boards or promoted by executive search firms.

Those in the know focus on the process of finding their next position in place of hoping for the prize. They put a proactive plan in place, which directs how they participate in what is an extremely unstructured environment.

They know that protection of their emotional capital is of paramount importance, and that disciplined, consistent, and different action is the secret to their success.

In summary:

Gambling and executive job search share many things in common.

Those that find success take a different approach to the majority, they protect their capital (financial and emotional) and follow a rigorous and disciplined plan.

For more information on Career Codex, please Buy Diazepam 10Mg Online Uk that explains the four components of successful executive job search and reveals the ‘hidden’ market.